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Conclusion
Conclusion ( 大団円 / だいだんえん / daidan'en / Denouement ) is the one-hundred-seventh and final chapter of the Elfen Lied manga series, and, by extension, the final chapter of Volume Twelve. A broader summary of these events in the form of a story arc digest is also available. Plot Time has passed since the death of Lucy/Nyu. Nozomi, who has recovered long enough to speak again, comments to Yuka that it definitely is spring, while Mayu urges Nana to be careful as she re-tiles the roof, almost not reacting to her arm falling off. Yuka proclaims the newly repaired Maple House to be ready to welcome home Kouta. Kouta then begins a narrative of events in the world. Four months after Lucy's death, the World Health Organization forbade any human births due to the outbreak of births of horned children who would kill Humans as they grew older. Arakawa developed the vaccine needed to prevent these births but seemed unhappy with the fame and recognition she once craved so badly. Between the people killed by the horned children, and the lack of new human births, humankind faced extinction before the widespread inoculations of the vaccine, but once they were in place, the birth ban would be lifted soon, albeit with Earth's population decreased by a large number for some time to come. Kouta and Yuka finally become closer and begin to repair their past wounds. In a small fragment of the underground grotto that survived the sinking of the island, Anna Kakuzawa emerges alive and well, her monstrous oracle form having been a shell her father crafted to make her a living computer. Anna hears a sound and covers her post-emergence nudity at someone's approach. It is the Agent, who is also alive, having had the attacking Clone Diclonii washed away by the flooding, wandering for days on end---and revealed to be a woman. She and Anna argue lightly until the Agent asks Anna how they can get out of there. Anna at first believes she knows but then realizes that her knowledge as a living computer is gone now, much to her relief. Thrown off by the young girl's behavior, the Agent makes the practical but repulsive suggestion that they eat the monster shell of Anna's oracle form. At Maple House, Mayu wonders where Wanta is. The small dog has wandered outside, and passes Nana at a series of grave markers, saying how she is not lonely despite her papa not being there, since she has all her friends. We are led to believe it is Kurama who died, but in fact, he is right behind Nana and is merely going to the cemetery to give a proper burial to Mariko's ashes. They are finally living together (whether this is in their home or if Kurama is staying at the Maple House is never made clear), and Kurama promises that they will be together once he cleans up some loose ends from the situation that has dominated their lives. Nana begs him to become his wife and make babies with him. As he begins to answer her with what it looks like to be a dismissal of her request, Wanta leaves them without hearing the rest of his reply. Wanta then passes by a flyer for an art gallery featuring an artist named "Aiko Takada" and comes upon Mayu, who is still cleaning up the beach months after Bando's supposed death, and wondering where her dog has gone. While she is proud of her efforts, she amusedly imagines that Bando would not praise her for it, only to hear her imitation of his words from Bando himself, apparently with even more plastic parts than before, telling her again that he could never die. Lovingly and overwhelmed with joy, Mayu flings her arms around Bando and begins to cry in happiness as Wanta turns and heads for home. The last day of the summer festival arrives, with Nozomi and Yuka dealing with the heat, and Mayu putting up with Nana mocking her for being so hungry, she eats cotton--not understanding about cotton candy. Kouta excuses himself to Yuka and leaves them, saying he must visit an old friend. When he gets to the promised spot Lucy/Nyu spoke of, he realizes she won't be there, and begins to think that maybe that promise was meant for next year. For the next ten years on that same day, he returns and waits for her to keep her promise to be waiting there for him. That tenth year, he arrives in the company of a little girl who greatly resembles a young Yuka. She is Kouta's daughter Nyuu, to whom he explains the reason he comes there, and that he used to play with his friend there when they were children. Nyuu explains that she plays there too, with a set of twins who are her friends, arguing the obvious point with Kouta when he says she shouldn't play there. They stay for a time, but when her papa's friend doesn't come, Nyuu suggests they get back before her Mama (the child genuinely resembles young Yuka, though her mother is never named) is angry at them for being too late. Looking over by the stone that marks the first Nyu's puppy's grave, the little girl notes a jar that has surfaced. It contains the jade stone Kouta once gave her as a gift, and a letter that gives thanks to him for the stone, confesses her desire to marry him and reveals her real name - Kaede - at long last. Knowing for certain that their early friendship and love was genuine and that her heart was human, after all, Kouta cries tears of joy for having found his real friend at last. Little Nyuu then sees her two friends approach them, one of whom is named Kaede. The twin girls tell Kouta that they have been waiting to meet someone there, their very special and important friend. We see them only partially, and it is impossible to tell if they are humans or Diclonii, but it is apparent from the look of joy on Kouta's face that they Lucy and Nyu, are possibly the reincarnations of Lucy and Nyu. The Letter Trivia *The ambiguous identity of the twins is the series' last great mystery. Judging by both their facial expressions and body language, the twins seem to have the same characteristics as Lucy and Nyuu when they were alive: one is serious and doesn't appear to speak up right away, and the other is smiling and extroverted. Based on this, it seems both Lucy and Nyuu's individual personalities were so distinct from one another that they reincarnated into two new bodies. The twins' clothing is indicative. The cheerful patterns in the design for both girls' dresses, how well groomed and nourished both twins look when making their appearance known to Kouta and little Nyuu, lead to the conclusion that they are born into a happy family whose parents care about them. Thus, if both the Lucy and Nyu personalities were reborn, then the twins were granted all the things that the first Lucy strongly despair over throughout her previous life: Kouta's company; to belong to a place or family where they are accepted, and to be loved unconditionally. *The chapter's cover features almost every single character of note, living and dead, with a pose akin to that of a final curtain call by the cast of play. All are more or less smiling, even when beside those with shared enmity. *For the final curtain call drawing, Okamoto used probably a two to a three-tiered platform. So it does not necessarily mean that Chief Kakuzawa is that an extraordinarily tall guy. He is just on the highest platform. *The encounter of Kouta with the twins after ten years of Lucy's death (or whatever) might be inspired by an old novel for juniors "Sakon Ukon" by Eiji Yoshikawa issued in 1936. It was later TV dramatized in the late 50's and also published as a manga. Regrettably, no library has the manga book although searched for many times. It is a story of the late 19th century Japan when the country changes from a samurai country to another. Two close juvenile brothers left their hometown separately to work in a big city. They kept seeing each other once a year at the same place on the same date that was determined by the two. Then the battles started between the ancient samurai regime and the opposing forces. The two had to fight as an enemy. The promise of meeting once a year was kept even during the war times. But one of them stopped doing so. The other kept on going to that place on the determined date for years, although uncertain whether the other was still alive until they could meet again ten years later. The guy who could not come were heavily injured and could not walk without heavily relying on sticks to rejoin there again. Category:Series Information Category:Story Related Category:Manga Category:Article